


the scars from that day

by atsushikun



Series: Self-indulgent One Piece Soulmate AU [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Soulmate AU, and why does sanji look irritated by this fact, but does he like him back, law just can't be honest now can he, luffy is adorable regardless of what happens, zoro likes luffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-06-29 15:52:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15732618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atsushikun/pseuds/atsushikun
Summary: The only way for your scars to disappear is when your soulmate kisses them goodbye.Sometimes, Law wonders...can his soulmate take away the scars of his heart too?





	the scars from that day

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on two soulmate AUs from http://aupromptscollection.tumblr.com/post/137184866535/soulmate-au-story-ideas  
> One of the soulmate AU I used was tweaked for the sake of this fic lmao

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> young luffy wakes up from a nightmare

_Why?_

 

 

His already weak knees gave away at the horrific sight before him. He froze as the realization slowly crept in. Tears had blurred his vision, but he could still make out the burning building in front of him, creating an eerie vivid red hue. It was a disgusting sight. The heat had made him want to throw up, but even the scorching heat seemed like nothing next to the pain his heart has just been dealt. It was as if someone had a hard grasp on it, gripping it,  _crushing_  it.

 

He could barely breathe.

 

He felt the despair and frustration build up in his throat, and before he knew it, a desperate, heart-wrenching scream escaped from his lips.

 

" _Lammy_!"

  

 

He screamed and screamed, but in an instant, the scene shifted to him in a dark place. He was lying down, tears still staining his face, faint sobs coming from his lips. He looked up at the heavy weight above him and saw a familiar face. Eyes closed, skin pale,  _dead._  And he wasn't the only one. All around him, there were dead people. He was under a huge pile of white, unmoving,  _dead_   _bodies._

 

Then Luffy whisked his eyes open with a start. He yelled before he realized it, thick streams of tears coming from his eyes. He held his chest tightly as he screamed. His eyes were wandering all over the room, looking for anything or anyone to help him from the  _terror_  he was feeling. This immediately woke up his two older brothers. Sabo was quick to head over to the younger boy, rubbing his back in a soothing pattern as he placed him in his embrace. Ace went away to get a glass of water, hoping it would calm Luffy down.

 

Luffy cried in Sabo's chest, gripping his shirt tightly. Sabo had prompted him to drink the water Ace had brought him and he followed, shakily drinking in between sobs. Ace puts down the glass and glances at Sabo, his eyes telling him to say something. This was a common scene for the three brothers. Luffy would wake up in the dead of the night crying. There were nights when he'd cry a bit more quietly. And some nights, such as this one, when he'd wake up screaming, trashing, panicking,  _completely and utterly_ _terrified_.

  
  
Ace and Sabo had eventually come to the conclusion that whoever Luffy's soulmate was, must be living a miserable life. When the young boy slept, he only had nightmares. Rare were the moments when he'd have normal dreams. He was probably going to see those in his sleep for the rest of his life. He would probably continue waking up in the middle of the night with tears. Or he would eventually get used to it, eventually accepting those nightmares as something as natural as breathing. Either way, it was a lonely fate, and Ace and Sabo hated how they couldn't do anything about it. It would be great if Luffy's soulmate found some sort of happiness, and the nightmares would probably stop, but that's highly unlikely.

 

Even if Luffy's soulmate were to find happiness somewhere, it isn't a guarantee that the nightmares would stop. The soulmate system didn't work that way. You get to relive moments of your soulmate's life through their eyes, and these moments were random. You could dream about an event in your soulmate's life that happened days, weeks, months, or even years before. You could even dream about random, insignificant times. But most of the time, you get to see the bits that mattered. Whether in a good or bad way.

 

"Luffy?" Sabo finally spoke. "Do you...want to tell us about it?" He spoke slowly, observing the younger boy's reaction with every word he uttered. He knew the answer would be no, but he felt the need to ask. Luffy had always been insistent on keeping his dreams secret, perhaps to honor his soulmate's privacy. It was both a touching and melancholic conviction, and the young boy's brothers didn't know what to feel about it.

 

Luffy shook his head, and Ace furrowed his brows in frustration. "If it's too much for you to handle alone..." He started without thinking. "...then tell us. We're your brothers. That's what we're here for." His voice bore a hint of irritation, but never anger, and more pain, helplessness, sympathy. "Luffy."

 

 _"No..!"_  The young boy yelled in between sobs. "I can't! I can't! I  _won't!"_  His grip on Sabo's shirt tightened as more tears flooded his eyes. "My  _dream person_  wouldn't like it!" His words were firm, despite his shaky voice. He had made up his mind on keeping the events in his nightmares to himself, and nothing would change his mind. Not even his own beloved brothers. Ace knew that nothing he would say would get the words out of Luffy's mouth, and so he sat beside him in awkward silence.

 

"We understand..." Sabo gently rubs Luffy's back again, making soothing patterns that seemed to calm the younger boy down. "Just... let us be here for you every time you have to face those dreams... okay?" A lonely expression dawned on Sabo and Ace's face. It was all they could do right now, or ever. Just being there for Luffy, but never really able to share the pains he felt. 

 

"Yeah..." Luffy weakly replied, his voice muffled as he buried his face in Sabo's chest. "Thank you..." He whispered.

 

Needless to say, the two older brothers understood Luffy’s sentiments. Ace’s soulmate was someone who traveled a lot. Someone people looked up to. A leader. And maybe that’s why he often dreamed of lonely nights in bed. His soulmate was someone who couldn’t openly show his more vulnerable emotions. And so majority of his dreams consisted of silent unshed tears. Repressed emotions. Lonely humming. For someone who went as far as to keeping his emotions to himself, Ace knew his soulmate would appreciate it if he didn't tell anyone.

 

~~Judging from the people he saw in his dreams, his soulmate was most likely a pirate. It was also worth noting how much older his soulmate was. Ace couldn't quite get a grip of this, and so he eventually let the issue go. His grown-up self can deal with that bit.~~

 

Sabo's soulmate seems to also live quite a horrible life. From the scenes he had seen in his sleep, he had concluded that his soulmate was a slave. She never cried, and all she ever seemed to do was clean. She was also, quite frankly, extremely paranoid. There was one moment in her life that made Sabo absolutely terrified- when a scorching hot iron was pressed against her skin, wounding it,  _burning_ it. She had collapsed to the floor and Sabo would always fear for her life even if he knew that she survived. 

 

Recently, Sabo has been having dreams that had none of the sadness he was used to witnessing. His soulmate was with a new group of people, and Sabo guessed that she's probably in a better place now. And he was happy, extremely happy,  ~~even if he still had dreams of when she was a slave.~~ Thing was, he knew she doesn't want anyone knowing about her past without her permission. And in a sense, by keeping quiet about his dreams, he was resepcting her new-found freedom.

 

The things Ace and Sabo dream of aren't the happiest, but at one point in their life, they learned to deal with it. Luffy, clearly, still has not. Ace and Sabo wish he doesn't have to. That eventually his nightmares will turn into good dreams, despite how unlikely that would be.

 

Luffy had fallen back to sleep, still being cradled in Sabo's arms. The peaceful look on his face relieved the tension Ace and Sabo never knew they had. They looked at each other, a silent conversation only the two of them understood. Then they looked back at Luffy, whose face still had traces of his crying. Even so, Ace and Sabo couldn't help but smile. He looked so _comfortable,_ and it's been months since they saw him like that in his sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No nightmares haunted Luffy this time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys! 
> 
> i used 2 soulmate aus for this fic! i just wanted to explain how they work here~
> 
> the first one is quite simple. you guys read it in the description. basically, your soulmate can kiss your scars goodbye. and that's technically it.
> 
> the second one is a bit more complicated since it was tweaked for my sake *evil laughter*
> 
> so basically, you experience moments of your soulmate's life through their eyes in your dreams and even partially feel the emotions they felt in that moment. when someone in your dream mentions your soulmate's name, you automatically cannot hear their voice as if they were mute. when you see a mirror or a picture of your soulmate in your dream, your vision suddenly goes blurry, you can hear your soulmate's voice but as soon as you wake up you can barely remember what your soulmate's voice sounds like. you may find their voice familiar when you hear their voice tho, so that's maybe a good thing(?)
> 
> technically, the second soulmate rule is that way so that it would be a bit more challenging for my characters to find their soulmates fufufu. but ofc im gonna use the "fate is a cruel thing" reasoning bc why not?


End file.
